Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office made the announcement Wednesday. It comes in response to an independent report that suggests Hanford workers suffer adverse health effects from exposure to chemical vapors.

The U.S. Department of Labor says Washington River Protection Solutions violated federal rules by firing the worker after she raised questions about safety. The company says her concerns over environmental issues did not play a role in her termination.

Hanford contractor Washington River Protection Solutions says all the workers have been cleared by doctors. The company says it is taking steps to prevent employees from being exposed to chemical vapors.

Three employees of a Hanford contractor were given medical evaluations after being exposed to vapors in a tank farm. Workers had been evacuated from a farm Tuesday after several reported smelling chemical vapors.

The Department of Energy says the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility at the Hanford site will close within a year. According to DOE, using offsite labs to analyze waste samples will save around $12 million a year.

Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz met Monday morning to discuss the Department of Energy's draft cleanup plan, but Inslee released a statement saying the proposal fell short of what the state requested.

The Obama administration released its proposed Hanford cleanup budget for the 2015 fiscal year Tuesday - and it's a sizable cut. KEPR looked into how the decrease will affect the cleanup and the Tri-Cities' economy.